Mental Health Awareness

Good morning all

Well this week is National Mental Health Week

Mental health is such a wide subject these days, and I don’t claim to know everything about it

But I do know a little, and I coach a lot of clients who suffer with mental health issues, as well as being able to speak from my own experience too

So being someone who has suffered myself, I felt it important to touch on this subject and tell my story, to hopefully help those of you who suffer too, or know someone who does

After suffering from depression, what helped me was regular exercise, and healthy eating

Depression is horrendous 

It knocks you off your feet, and makes you feel alone, and in such a dark place that you can’t see a way out

hiding away, not leaving your house and just sleeping all of the time, seems to be the only thing you can do

No matter what anyone says ‘they don’t understand’

People can give you advice on how to help manage the depression, but putting these tools into action is way too much effort and you genuinely don’t think they will work

Mental health can range from stress to depression, anxiety, depression and personality disorders, just to name a few

All of which are helped massively with regular exercise and clean eating, as well as other de-stressing activities

As hard as these illnesses are to overcome, you must first WANT to overcome them, to be able to take action

I don’t mean to be too controversial here, but what really annoys me is people who play on stress, depression, anxiety, to get out of work

When many genuine sufferers want to hide the fact they have it, and pretend they are ‘normal’

Again I don’t agree with this, I firmly believe anyone suffering should seek help and advice,

But some people who say they suffer, really have no clue

But, I will move on quickly here

Ok so dragging myself up when I suffered depression badly was very difficult

and when you read MY STORY you will see how I did it

But basically getting myself back to the gym, sorting my terrible nutrition out, and learning more about both of these, as well as the mind, I slowly got better

15 years on, I now help others who suffer

Yes I still suffer myself, I don’t think it ever really goes away

But the bouts I have are smaller, and much less frequent

How do I manage it?

well I know my triggers

not exercising, eating poorly, and not using my de-stressing tools to keep me on track

Exercise I believe plays a huge part in helping manage mental illness

exercise relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts overall mood

And I don’t even mean crazy, hardcore exercise that’s going to kill you

No matter your age, size or fitness level, we can all exercise to suit our own capabilities

Exercise doesn’t have to be aimed at high intensity cardiovascular, or muscle building, to aid mental health

The most basic form of exercise is walking

And walking is fantastic for lowering Cortisol (stress hormone) so will help reduce stress and hopefully control any other mental health issues you have going on too

Walking daily for at least 30 minutes, in a nice, happy environment, will give you the ‘feel good factor’ increase your energy, improve brain function, improve mood, and aid sleep

Sleep again is vital for good mental health

Poor sleep, too little, or too much is a big indicator of mental health issues

So managing this is vital

And exercise, will encourage better sleep

Eating processed, sugary foods release toxins into the body, which affect it and the brain’s natural functions

these toxins cause the body to perform poorly, and again stress hormones to be released constantly to protect the body

So cleaning up your food, getting the right vitamins, minerals and nutrients